U.S. patent application number 15/348692 was filed with the patent office on 2018-05-10 for identifying roadway obstacles based on vehicular data.
The applicant listed for this patent is Allstate Solutions Private Limited. Invention is credited to Anil Kumar Pandurangarao.
Application Number | 20180130353 15/348692 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 62064787 |
Filed Date | 2018-05-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180130353 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Pandurangarao; Anil Kumar |
May 10, 2018 |
Identifying Roadway Obstacles Based on Vehicular Data
Abstract
Apparatuses, systems, and methods are provided for interfacing a
roadway obstacle and navigation system with an obstacle
identification and route determination system to identify roadway
obstacles based on vehicular data. The roadway obstacle and
navigation system may receive vehicular data through sensor
utilization and communications with electronic devices. The
vehicular data may be analyzed by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system in conjunction with the obstacle identification
and route determination system to identify roadway obstacles. The
roadway obstacle and navigation system may use the roadway
obstacles to provide safety alerts to drivers.
Inventors: |
Pandurangarao; Anil Kumar;
(Karnataka, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Allstate Solutions Private Limited |
Bangalore |
|
IN |
|
|
Family ID: |
62064787 |
Appl. No.: |
15/348692 |
Filed: |
November 10, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08G 1/096741 20130101;
G01C 21/3605 20130101; G07C 5/008 20130101; G08G 1/096775 20130101;
G01C 21/3697 20130101; G08G 1/164 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G08G 1/16 20060101
G08G001/16; G07C 5/00 20060101 G07C005/00; G01C 21/36 20060101
G01C021/36 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: activating, by a roadway obstacle and
navigation system including a roadway obstacle and navigation
application executing on a mobile device associated with the
roadway obstacle and navigation system, one or more communication
interfaces of the mobile device; scanning, by the roadway obstacle
and navigation system via the one or more communication interfaces,
for one or more of a telematics device and an on-board computer
associated with a vehicle; responsive to detecting, via the scan,
one or more of the telematics device and the on-board computer
associated with the vehicle, pairing, by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system via the one or more communication interfaces, the
mobile device with one or more of the telematics device and the
on-board computer associated with the vehicle; receiving, by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system from one or more of the
telematics device and the on-board computer, vehicle operational
data of the vehicle; determining, by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system and based on the vehicle operational data,
whether a driving event occurred; responsive to determining that a
driving event occurred, compressing, by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system, the vehicle operational data corresponding to
the driving event; transmitting, by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system, the compressed vehicle operational data to an
obstacle identification server; receiving, by the roadway obstacle
and navigation system and from the obstacle identification server,
data corresponding to one or more roadway obstacles, wherein the
data corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles includes at
least location information of each of the one or more roadway
obstacles; determining, by the roadway obstacle and navigation
system, a relative location of the vehicle in relation to the
location information of each of the one or more roadway obstacles;
and determining, by the roadway obstacle and navigation system,
whether the relative location of the vehicle in relation to at
least one of the one or more roadway obstacles is within a
predetermined threshold.
2. (canceled)
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: activating, by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system, a speaker of the mobile
device based on determining that the relative location of the
vehicle in relation to at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles is within the predetermined threshold; and causing, by
the roadway obstacle and navigation system, the activated speaker
to emit an audible tone of an increasing frequency and
loudness.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system via a touchscreen interface
of the mobile device, location and destination information from a
user; transmitting, by the roadway obstacle and navigation system,
the location and destination information to a route determination
server; and receiving, by the roadway obstacle and navigation
system and from the route determination server, route information
corresponding to the location and destination information and data
corresponding to one or more roadway obstacles along a route from a
location indicated by the location information to a destination
indicated by the destination information of the route
information.
5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: activating, by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system, one or more sensors of the
mobile device in response to receiving the route information and
the data corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles;
determining, by the roadway obstacle and navigation system via the
one or more activated sensors, location data of the vehicle in
relation to at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles
indicated in the data corresponding to the one or more roadway
obstacles; and responsive to determining that the vehicle
encountered at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles based
on the location data determined via the one or more activated
sensors, requesting information from the user regarding the at
least one of the one or more roadway obstacles, wherein the
requesting the information from the user occurs after the vehicle
has reached the destination.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the
driving event occurred further comprises: analyzing, by the roadway
obstacle and navigation application, the vehicle operational data
of at least one of a vertical, horizontal, and lateral acceleration
of the vehicle in relation to a predetermined threshold
corresponding to at least one of the vertical, horizontal, and
lateral acceleration of the vehicle.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system, that one or more of the
telematics device and the on-board computer were not registered
during the scanning; and activating, by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system, one or more sensors of the mobile device.
8. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and memory storing
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: activate one or more
communication interfaces of a mobile device; scan, via the one or
more communication interfaces, for one or more of a telematics
device and an on-board computer associated with a vehicle; pair,
via the one or more communication interfaces, the mobile device
with one or more of the telematics device and the on-board computer
associated with the vehicle; receive from one or more of the
telematics device and the on-board computer, vehicle operational
data of the vehicle; determine, based on the vehicle operational
data, whether a driving event occurred; responsive to determining
that the driving event occurred, compress the vehicle operational
data corresponding to the driving event; transmit the compressed
vehicle operational data to an obstacle identification server;
receive data corresponding to one or more roadway obstacles,
wherein the data corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles
includes at least location information of each of the one or more
roadway obstacles; determine a relative location of the vehicle in
relation to the location information of each of the one or more
roadway obstacles; and determine whether the relative location of
the vehicle in relation to at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles is within a predetermined threshold.
9. (canceled)
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory stores further
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: activate a speaker of the mobile
device based on determining that the relative location of the
vehicle in relation to at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles is within the predetermined threshold; and cause the
activated speaker to emit an audible tone of an audible tone of an
increasing frequency and loudness.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory stores further
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: receive via a touchscreen
interface of the mobile device, location and destination
information from a user; transmit the location and destination
information to a route determination server; and receive the route
determination server, route information corresponding to the
location and destination information and data corresponding to one
or more roadway obstacles along directions from a location
indicated by the location information to a destination indicated by
the destination information of the route information.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the memory stores further
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: activate one or more sensors of
the mobile device in response to receiving the route information
and the data corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles;
determine, via the one or more activated sensors, location data of
the vehicle in relation to at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles indicated in the data corresponding to the one or more
roadway obstacles; and responsive to determining that the vehicle
encountered at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles based
on the location data determined via the one or more activated
sensors, requesting information from the user regarding the at
least one of the one or more roadway obstacles, wherein the
requesting the information from the user occurs after the vehicle
has reached the destination.
13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory stores further
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: analyze the vehicle operational
data of at least one of a vertical, horizontal, and lateral
acceleration of the vehicle in relation to a predetermined
threshold corresponding to at least one of the vertical,
horizontal, and lateral acceleration of the vehicle.
14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the memory stores further
computer readable instructions that, when executed by the
processor, cause the apparatus to: determine that one or more of
the telematics device and the on-board computer were not registered
during the scanning; and activate one or more sensors of the mobile
device.
15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having
instructions stored thereon that, when executed, cause a computing
device to: activate one or more communication interfaces of a
mobile device; scan, via the one or more communication interfaces,
for one or more of a telematics device and an on-board computer
associated with a vehicle; pair, via the one or more communication
interfaces, the mobile device with one or more of the telematics
device and the on-board computer associated with the vehicle;
receive from one or more of the telematics device and the on-board
computer, vehicle operational data of the vehicle; determine, based
on the vehicle operational data, whether a driving event occurred;
responsive to determining that the driving event occurred, compress
the vehicle operational data corresponding to the driving event;
transmit the compressed vehicle operational data to an obstacle
identification server; receive data corresponding to one or more
roadway obstacles, wherein the data corresponding to the one or
more roadway obstacles includes at least location information of
each of the one or more roadway obstacles; determine a relative
location of the vehicle in relation to the location information of
each of the one or more roadway obstacles; and determine whether
the relative location of the vehicle in relation to at least one of
the one or more roadway obstacles is within a predetermined
threshold.
16. (canceled)
17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim
15, having additional instructions stored thereon that, when
executed, further cause the computing device to: activate a speaker
of the computing device based on determining that the relative
location of the vehicle in relation to at least one of the one or
more roadway obstacles is within the predetermined threshold; and
cause the activated speaker to produce an audible tone of an
audible tone of an increasing frequency and loudness.
18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim
15, having additional instructions stored thereon that, when
executed, further cause the computing device to: receive via the
touchscreen interface, location and destination information from a
user; transmit the location and destination information to a route
determination server; and receive the route determination server,
route information corresponding to the location and destination
information and data corresponding to one or more roadway obstacles
along directions from a location indicated by the location
information to a destination indicated by the destination
information of the route information.
19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim
18, having additional instructions stored thereon that, when
executed, further cause the computing device to: activate one or
more sensors of the mobile device in response to receiving the
route information and the data corresponding to the one or more
roadway obstacles; determine, via the one or more activated
sensors, location data of the vehicle in relation to at least one
of the one or more roadway obstacles indicated in the data
corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles; and responsive
to determining that the vehicle encountered at least one of the one
or more roadway obstacles based on the location data determined via
the one or more activated sensors, requesting information from the
user regarding the at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles, wherein the requesting the information from the user
occurs after the vehicle has reached the destination.
20. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim
15, having additional instructions stored thereon that, when
executed, further cause the computing device to: analyze the
vehicle operational data of at least one of a vertical, horizontal,
and lateral acceleration of the vehicle in relation to a
predetermined threshold corresponding to at least one of the
vertical, horizontal, and lateral acceleration of the vehicle.
Description
FIELD
[0001] Aspects described herein generally relate to one or more
computer systems, servers, and/or other electronic devices
including hardware and/or software. In particular, aspects relate
to evaluating vehicular data to identify one or more roadway
obstacles and, based on the identified one or more roadway
obstacles, causing a device to produce an audible tone.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Community-based traffic and navigation applications allow
users to actively report roadway obstacles encountered during
driving so that other users of the application may be apprised of
such obstacles in advance of potential encounters. In order to
provide an obstacle report, however, users are required to manually
enter information associated with the obstacle via a mobile device
on which the application is operating. Such a configuration, due to
the requisite for active user interaction, may contribute to
distracted driving leading to motor vehicle accidents which, in
some instances, may cause injury and/or death. Accordingly, in
order to address such technological shortcomings, there may be a
need for systems and methods for determining roadway obstacles
based on vehicular data without necessitating active user input
during vehicle operation.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0003] The following presents a simplified summary of various
aspects described herein. This summary is not an extensive
overview, and is not intended to identify key or critical elements
or to delineate the scope of the claims. The following summary
merely presents some concepts in a simplified form as an
introductory prelude to the more detailed description provided
below.
[0004] To overcome limitations in the prior art described above,
and to overcome other limitations that will be apparent upon
reading and understanding the present specification, aspects
described herein are directed to identifying roadway obstacles
based on vehicular data.
[0005] Some aspects of the disclosure described herein provide for
a roadway obstacle and navigation system. The system may include
one or more computing devices, such as a mobile device, an on-board
computer associated with a vehicle, or the like. The roadway
obstacle and navigation system may be configured to activate one or
more communication interfaces and to pair, via the one or more
communication interfaces, the mobile device or other computing
device with a telematics device and/or vehicle on-board computer of
the vehicle. After pairing, the roadway obstacle and navigation
system may receive vehicle operational data from the telematics
device and/or vehicle on-board computer. The roadway obstacle and
navigation system may be further configured to determine whether
the vehicle operational data surpasses a predetermined threshold.
Responsive to doing so, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
may compress the vehicle operational data surpassing the threshold
and transmit said data to an obstacle identification and route
determination system.
[0006] The roadway obstacle and navigation system may further be
configured to receive data from an obstacle identification and
route determination system corresponding to one or more roadway
obstacles, determine a location of the vehicle relative to the
roadway obstacles, activate a speaker based on the location of the
vehicle relative to the roadway obstacles being within a
predetermined threshold, and cause the speaker to produce an audio
tone in relation to the location of the vehicle relative to the
obstacles.
[0007] Additionally, the roadway obstacle and navigation system may
be configured to receive navigation information from a user and to
compress and transmit such information to the obstacle
identification and route determination system. In response, the
roadway obstacle and navigation system may receive directions
between a location and a destination within the navigation
information, as well as information corresponding to one or more
roadway obstacles. In order to provide alerts to a user regarding
the one or more roadway obstacles, the roadway obstacle and
navigation system may be configured to activate speakers and cause
the speakers to produce an audible tone.
[0008] Other aspects of the disclosure described herein provide for
an obstacle identification and route determination system
configured to interface with the roadway obstacle and navigation
system. The obstacle identification and route determination system
may include an obstacle identification server and a route
determination server.
[0009] The obstacle identification server may be configured to
receive vehicular data from one or more roadway obstacle and
navigation systems associated with particular vehicles. Based on
such data, the obstacle identification server may be able to
aggregate the vehicular data in relation to the location and time
at which the data was generated to determine whether a roadway
obstacle is present on any given segment of roadway.
[0010] The route determination server may be configured to receive
navigation information from one or more roadway obstacle and
navigation systems and, based on the navigation information, to
produce a route determination. The route determination may further
include data related to one or more roadway obstacles present on
the route.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] A more complete understanding of aspects described herein
and the advantages thereof may be acquired by referring to the
following description in consideration of the accompanying
drawings, in which like reference numbers indicate like features,
and wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 depicts an example roadway obstacle analysis system
according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
driving event determination method according to one or more aspects
of the disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
roadway obstacle identification method according to one or more
aspects of the disclosure.
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
roadway obstacle alert and assessment method according to one or
more aspects of the disclosure.
[0016] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a
roadway obstacle alert and assessment method according to one or
more aspects of the disclosure.
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
navigation method according to one or more aspects of the
disclosure.
[0018] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a
navigation method according to one or more aspects of the
disclosure.
[0019] FIGS. 8A and 8B depict example navigation interfaces
according to one or more aspects of the disclosure.
[0020] FIG. 9 illustrates an example network environment and
computing systems that may be used to implement aspects of the
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating various example components
of a roadway obstacle analysis system 100 according to one or more
aspects of the disclosure. The roadway obstacle analysis system 100
may include roadway obstacle and navigation system 125, a network
130, and an obstacle identification and route determination system
140. The roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may include a
vehicle 110 and one or more components included therein or
associated therewith (e.g., vehicle operation sensors 111, GPS 112,
telematics device 113, vehicle communication system 114, and
on-board computer 115, and the like) and mobile computing device
120. The obstacle identification and route determination system 140
may include obstacle identification server 150 and the components
included therein or associated therewith (e.g., obstacle
identification computing device 152 and obstacle identification
database 154) and route determination server 160 and the components
included therein or associated therewith (e.g., route determination
computing device 162 and route determination database 164). The
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 and the obstacle
identification and route determination system 140 may be configured
to communicate with each other through network 130. Each component
shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented in hardware, software, or a
combination of the two. Additionally, each component of the roadway
obstacle analysis and navigation system 100 may include a computing
device (or system) having some or all of the structural components
described below in regard to computing device 901 of FIG. 9.
[0022] Vehicle 110 of the roadway obstacle analysis system 100 may
be an automobile, motorcycle, scooter, bus, van, truck, semi-truck,
train, boat, recreational vehicle, or other vehicle. The vehicle
110 may further be an autonomous vehicle, semi-autonomous vehicle,
or non-autonomous vehicle. In some examples, vehicle 110 may
include vehicle operation/performance sensors 111 capable of
detecting, recording, and transmitting various vehicle performance
and/or operational data and environmental conditions data. For
example, sensors 111 may detect, store, and transmit data
corresponding to the vehicle's speed, rates of acceleration and/or
deceleration, braking, swerving, and the like. Sensors 111 also may
detect, store and/or transmit data received from the vehicle's
internal systems, such as impact to the body of the vehicle, air
bag deployment, headlight usage, brake light operation, door
opening and closing, door locking and unlocking, cruise control
usage, hazard light usage, windshield wiper usage, horn usage, turn
signal usage, seat belt usage, phone and radio usage within the
vehicle, internal decibel levels, and other data collected by the
vehicle's computer systems.
[0023] Sensors 111 also may detect, store, and/or transmit data
relating to moving violations and the observance of traffic signals
and signs by the vehicle 110. Additional sensors 111 may detect,
store, and transmit data relating to the maintenance of the vehicle
110, such as the engine status, oil level, engine coolant
temperature, odometer reading, the level of fuel in the fuel tank,
engine revolutions per minute (RPMs), and/or tire pressure.
[0024] The sensors 111 of vehicle 110 may further include one or
more cameras and proximity sensors capable of recording additional
conditions inside or outside of the vehicle 110. Internal cameras
may detect conditions such as the number of the passengers in the
vehicle 110, and potential sources of driver distraction within the
vehicle (e.g., pets, phone usage, and unsecured objects in the
vehicle). External cameras and proximity sensors may be configured
to detect environmental conditions data such as nearby vehicles,
vehicle spacing, traffic levels, road conditions and obstacles,
traffic obstructions, animals, cyclists, pedestrians, precipitation
levels, light levels, sun position, and other conditions that may
factor into driving operations of vehicle 110.
[0025] Additionally, vehicle sensors 111 may be configured to
independently transmit the above-mentioned data to one or more
computing devices and/or systems including telematics device 113,
on-board computer 115, mobile device 120, and/or obstacle
identification and route determination system 140. In some
instances, the data transmission to the mobile device 120 and/or
obstacle identification and route determination system 140 may be
performed via on-board computer 115. In such cases, the on-board
computer 115 may be configured to transmit the data received from
vehicle sensors 111 to mobile device 120 and/or obstacle
identification and route determination system 140 by way of vehicle
communication system 114.
[0026] Vehicle 110 may include a Global Positioning System (GPS)
112 which may be used to generate data corresponding to the
position, heading, orientation, location, velocity, and/or
acceleration of vehicle 110. GPS 112 may be configured to
independently transmit the above-mentioned data to one or more
computing systems including telematics device 113, on-board
computer 115, mobile device 120, and/or obstacle identification and
route determination system 140. In some instances, the data
transmission to the mobile device 120 and/or obstacle
identification and route determination system 140 may be performed
via on-board computer 115. In such cases, the on-board computer 115
may be configured to transmit the data received from GPS 112 to
mobile device 120 and/or obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 by way of vehicle communication system
114.
[0027] Telematics device 113 may be configured to receive vehicle
performance and/or operational data and environmental conditions
data in the form of a data stream from on-board computer 115 via a
data port, Bluetooth interface, or any comparable communication
interface of the vehicle 110. For example, telematics device 113
may include an on-board diagnostic (OBD) device adapter and may be
connected to an OBD port of the vehicle 110 through which on-board
computer 115 may be configured to transmit data to telematics
device 113. In certain embodiments, telematics device 113 may be
configured to receive vehicle performance and/or operational data
and environmental conditions data directly from vehicle sensors
111, GPS 112, on-board computer 115, and/or mobile device 120 via a
wired or wireless connection. Telematics device 113 may include a
memory to store data received from vehicle sensors 111, GPS 112,
on-board computer 115, and/or mobile device 120.
[0028] The vehicle performance and/or operational data may be
collected with appropriate permissions (e.g., from the driver,
vehicle owner, etc.) and may include operational data from an
industry standard port such as a SAE-1962 connector, or an on board
diagnostic ("OBD") port or other vehicle data acquiring component.
For example, operation data accessible via the OBDII port includes
speed and engine throttle position or other variable power controls
of the vehicle power source. It may also include so called
"extended OBDII" or OBDIII datasets that are specific to each
manufacturer and also available with manufacturer permission such
as odometer reading, seat belt status, activation of brakes, degree
and duration of steering direction, etc., and implementation of
accident avoidance devices such as turning signals, headlights,
seatbelts, activation of automated braking systems (ABS), etc.
Other information regarding the operation of the vehicle may be
collected such as, but not limited to, interior and exterior
vehicle temperature, window displacement, exterior vehicle
barometric pressure, exhaust pressure, vehicle emissions, turbo
blower pressure, turbo charger RPM, vehicle GPS location, etc. The
system may recognize or be configured to recognize a particular
language emitted by the vehicle system and may configure the
recording component to receive or convert data in SAE J1850, ISO
ISO9141 or KWP 2000 formats. Accordingly, U.S. and/or international
OBD standards may be accommodated. For instance, data may be
collected from a variety of U.S. and/or international port types to
permit use in a variety of locations. Alternatively, this step may
be performed by a processor after the data is recorded.
[0029] Telematics device 113 may also include sensors such as, but
not limited, an accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, and GPS.
Additionally, telematics device 113 may include antennas to
communicate with other devices wirelessly. For example, telematics
device 113 may communicate with on-board computer 115, mobile
device 120, and/or obstacle identification and route determination
system 140 over a wide area network (WAN), cellular network, Wi-Fi
network, and the like. Telematics device 113 may also communicate
with on-board computer 115 and mobile device 120 via a Bluetooth
connection. In certain embodiments, telematics device 113 may be
configured to establish a secure communication link and/or channel
with on-board computer 115, mobile device 120, and/or obstacle
identification and route determination system 140.
[0030] In some arrangements, telematics device 113 may include a
telematics application operating on on-board computer 115 and/or
mobile computing device 120 and may utilize hardware components
comprised within on-board computer 115 and/or mobile computing
device 120 (e.g., memory, processors, communication hardware, etc.)
to receive, store, and/or transmit vehicle performance and/or
operational data and environmental conditions data.
[0031] Vehicle communication systems 114 may be implemented using
wireless protocols such as WLAN communication protocols (e.g., IEEE
802.11), Bluetooth (e.g., IEEE 802.15.1), one or more of the
Communication Access for Land Mobiles (CALM) wireless communication
protocols and air interfaces, and the like. In certain systems,
communication systems 114 may include specialized hardware
installed in vehicle 110 (e.g., transceivers, antennas, etc.) to
facilitate near field communication (NFC) and/or radio-frequency
identification (RFID), while in other examples the communication
systems 114 may be implemented using existing vehicle hardware
components (e.g., radio and satellite equipment, navigation
computers). In some instances, the vehicle communication systems
114 may be configured to transmit and receive data from vehicle
sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics device 113, on-board computer 115,
mobile device 120, and/or obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 over a wide area network (WAN), cellular
network, Wi-Fi network, Bluetooth, RFID, and/or NFC.
[0032] On-board computer 115 may contain some or all of the
hardware/software components as the computing device 901 of FIG. 9.
Vehicle control computer 115 may be configured to operate one or
more internal vehicle systems and/or components including at least
a vehicle sound system, dashboard display and/or heads-up display
system, output speakers, interior lighting system, climate control
system, ignition system, door locking system, and the like.
Similarly, on-board computer 115 may be configured to operate one
or more external vehicle systems and/or components including
windshield wipers, exterior lighting systems (e.g., headlights,
tail lights, running lights, turn signals, emergency lights, etc.),
emission and exhaust systems, fuel systems, suspension systems,
transmission systems, and the like. In some instances, vehicle
control computer 115 may be configured to perform the driving event
determination, roadway obstacle identification, and navigation
methods as described in further detail below in conjunction with
mobile computing device 120 and/or obstacle identification and
route determination system 140.
[0033] Additionally, on-board computer 115 may include a display
screen for presenting information to a driver of vehicle 110
pertaining to any of a plurality of applications such as a
telematics application, roadway obstacle and navigation application
117, and the like. In some instances, the display screen may be a
touch screen and may be configured to receive user touch input.
Alternatively, the display screen may not be a touch screen and,
instead, the on-board computer 115 may receive user input and
provide output through one or more of the input/output modules 909
described in detail in regard to FIG. 9.
[0034] Mobile computing device 120 may be, for example, a mobile
phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or tablet computer
associated with the driver or passenger(s) of vehicle 110. As such,
mobile computing device 120 may be included within the vehicle 110
and, in some instances, may be used to independently collect
vehicle driving data and/or to receive vehicle driving and
operational/performance data, environmental conditions data,
roadway obstacle and navigation data, and the like from one or more
computing systems (e.g., vehicle operation sensors 111, GPS 112,
telematics device 113, on-board computer 115, and/or obstacle
identification and route determination system 140). In one example,
software applications executing on mobile computing device 120
(e.g., telematics application and/or roadway obstacle and
navigation application 117) may be configured to independently
detect driving data and/or to receive vehicle driving data and/or
environmental conditions data, roadway obstacle and navigation
data, and the like from one or more internal and/or external
computing systems. With respect to independent vehicle data
detection and collection, mobile device 120 may be equipped with
one or more accelerometers and/or GPS systems which may be accessed
by software applications executing on mobile computing device 120
to determine vehicle location (e.g., longitude, latitude, and
altitude), heading (e.g., orientation), velocity, acceleration,
direction, and other driving data. As stated above, mobile
computing device 120 may be configured to transmit the
independently collected vehicle driving data and/or the received
vehicle driving data, environmental conditions data, roadway
obstacle and navigation data, and the like to one or more computing
devices (e.g., telematics device 113, on-board computer 115, and/or
obstacle identification and route determination system 140).
[0035] Additionally, mobile computing device 120 may be configured
to perform one or more of the methods and/or processes
corresponding to driving event determination, roadway obstacle
identification, roadway obstacle alert and assessment, and
navigation as described in further detail below in conjunction with
on-board computer 115 and/or obstacle identification and route
determination system 140. In some instances, the methods
corresponding to the driving event determination, roadway obstacle
identification, roadway obstacle alert and assessment, and
navigation may be performed by a roadway obstacle and navigation
system 125 causing a roadway obstacle and navigation application
117 to operate or execute on mobile device 120. In performing such
methods, mobile device 120 may be configured to detect and store
vehicular operational and navigation data, and may be further
configured to transmit the vehicular operational and navigation
data to on-board computer 115 and/or obstacle identification and
route determination system 140. Furthermore, mobile device 120 may
be configured to receive vehicle operational data, environmental
conditions data, and/or data produced during the performance of the
methods corresponding to the driving event determination, roadway
obstacle identification, roadway obstacle alert and assessment, and
navigation from sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics device 113,
on-board computer 115, and/or obstacle identification and route
determination system 140.
[0036] The roadway obstacle analysis system 100 may include an
obstacle identification and route determination system 140
including an obstacle identification server 150 and a route
determination server 160. The obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 and each of the obstacle identification
server 150 and the route determination server 160 may contain some
or all of the hardware/software components as the computing device
901 of FIG. 9.
[0037] The obstacle identification and route determination system
140 may be a single server containing some or all of the
hardware/software components as the computing device 901 of FIG. 9.
In such instances, each of the obstacle identification server 150
and the route determination server 160 may be virtual machines
operating on the obstacle identification and route determination
system 140. Alternatively, the obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 may be a plurality of servers containing
some or all of the hardware/software components as the computing
device 901 of FIG. 9. In such instances, each of the obstacle
identification server 150 and the route determination server 160
may be individualized server entities.
[0038] In some instances, the analysis of the vehicular data in
identifying roadway obstacles and the analysis of the navigation
information in determining driving routes, as described in further
detail below, may be performed by obstacle identification and route
determination system 140. In such instances, any one, or
combination of, sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics device 113,
on-board computer 115, and mobile device 120 may transmit data to
obstacle identification and route determination system 140. Such
data may include any of the above-mentioned vehicle driving and
operational/performance data, environmental conditions data,
navigation data, and the like. Upon receipt of the data, obstacle
identification and route determination system 140, alone or in
combination, with mobile device 120 and/or on-board computer 115
may be able to perform the processes outlined in FIGS. 2-7.
[0039] Obstacle identification server 150 may comprise an obstacle
identification computing device 152 configured to receive and
process the vehicle driving and operational/performance data and
environmental conditions data from one or more electronic devices
(e.g., sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics device 113, on-board
computer 115, and mobile device 120) from each of a plurality of
vehicles to determine whether or not roadway obstacles are present
on any given segment of roadway mutually driven by each of the
vehicles. The obstacle identification server 150 may also comprise
an obstacle identification database 154 in which obstacle
identification computer 152 is configured to store the vehicle
driving and operational/performance data, environmental conditions
data, and roadway obstacle data. Additionally, obstacle
identification server 150 may be configured to transmit data (e.g.,
roadway obstacle data) to telematics device 113, on-board computer
115, mobile device 120, and route determination server 160. In some
instances, obstacle identification server 150 may be optional and
the processes performed by obstacle identification server 150 may
be distributed to any one, or combination of, mobile device 120 and
on-board computer 115.
[0040] In particular, the obstacle identification server 150 may be
configured to analyze the driving data to identify various driving
events that occurred during operation of each of a plurality of
vehicles at any given point during the respective operation of the
vehicles. Driving events may include, for example, acceleration
events, deceleration (braking) events, turning events, lane change
events, stopping events, backing up events, and the like which
surpass a predetermined threshold corresponding to the event type.
For instance, an acceleration event may correspond to a driving
event if it surpasses a predetermined threshold of more than 8 mph
over a period of one second; a controlled braking event may
correspond to a driving event if it surpasses a predetermined
threshold of more than 8 mph over a period of one second; and a
turning event may correspond to a driving event if it surpasses a
predetermined threshold of more than 1.025 g-forces. Such
predetermined thresholds as listed above are for illustrative
purposes, and one of ordinary skill in the art will readily
appreciate that other predetermined thresholds may be utilized. For
example, an acceleration event may correspond to a driving event if
it surpasses a predetermined threshold of more than 2, 3.5, 5, or 7
mph over a period of one second; a controlled braking event may
correspond to a driving event if it surpasses a predetermined
threshold more than 2, 3.5, 5, or 7 mph over a period of one
second; and a turning event may correspond to a driving event if it
surpasses a predetermined threshold of more than 0.5, 0.65, 0.8,
0.95, or 1 g-forces.
[0041] In further regard to acceleration events, such events may be
associated with vertical, horizontal, and lateral acceleration
and/or deceleration surpassing a predetermined threshold. For
example, if a vehicle swerves out of the way of an obstacle, a
horizontal acceleration event may be determined if the acceleration
data indicates that a predetermined threshold was surpassed. As
noted above, in some examples, the roadway obstacle and navigation
application operating on the on-board computer 115 and/or the
mobile computing device 120 may perform some, or all, of the
analysis of the driving data and provide indications of driving
events.
[0042] The obstacle identification server 150 may further be
configured to determine whether an aggregate of driving events at a
particular location signifies a roadway obstacle at the particular
location. In order to associate the aggregate of driving events at
a particular location with a roadway obstacle at the particular
location, the obstacle identification server 150 may determine
whether the determined driving events at the particular location
exceed a predetermined threshold of reported events (e.g., 10 or
more driving events, 50 or more driving events, 100 or more driving
events, 500 or more driving events, etc. associated with a
particular geographical location). In the event that the obstacle
identification server 150 determines that the determined driving
events exceed a predetermined threshold of reported events, the
obstacle identification server 150 may identify a roadway obstacle
at the particular geographical location.
[0043] Furthermore, the determination of a roadway obstacle may
further be time dependent. For example, if the reported driving
events exceed a predetermined threshold (e.g., 10 or more driving
events, 50 or more driving events, 100 or more driving events, 500
or more driving events, etc. associated with a particular
geographical location) in a particular time range (e.g., 2 hours, 5
hours, 24 hours, etc.), the obstacle identification server 150 may
determine that a roadway obstacle is present at the particular
location. Additionally and/or alternatively, the determination of a
roadway obstacle may be based on a percentage of roadway obstacle
identification and navigation systems 125 (e.g. 60% or greater, 75%
or greater, 85% or greater, etc.) providing vehicle operational
data determined to have surpassed the predetermined threshold over
a particular time range (e.g., 2 hours, 5 hours, 24 hours,
etc.).
[0044] In some instances, the identified roadway obstacle may
further be classified as a permanent and/or temporary obstacle. For
instance, a permanent obstacle may relate to a particular time of
day (e.g., morning between 7:00 am-9:20 am, evening between 4:00
pm-7:00 pm, etc.) and/or a particular segment of roadway (e.g.,
hairpin turn on a mountain road, speed bump, transitionary point
from paved to gravel/dirt road, etc.). A temporary obstacle may
relate to roadway phenomena such as debris, a pot hole, traffic
accident, flooded roadway, and the like.
[0045] The route determination server 160 may comprise a route
determination computer 162 configured to receive and process
navigation data (e.g., trip and location data) from any one, or
combination of sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics device 113,
on-board computer 115, and mobile device 120 to determine a route
from an entered location to an entered destination comprised within
the trip data. In some instances, the determined route may be a
route involving the shortest total roadway travel distance between
the entered location and destination. Alternatively, the determined
route may be a route involving the least amount of roadway
obstacles between the entered location and destination. The route
determination server 160 may also comprise a route determination
database 164 used to store the route data produced by route
determination computer 162, as well as the navigation data received
from any one, or combination of sensors 111, GPS 112, telematics
device 113, on-board computer 115, and mobile device 120.
Additionally, route determination server 160 may be configured to
transmit data to telematics device 113, on-board computer 115,
mobile device 120, and obstacle identification server 150. In some
instances, route determination server 160 may be optional and the
processes performed by route determination server 160 may be
distributed to any one, or combination of, mobile device 120 and
on-board computer 115.
[0046] The following steps that are described in regard to FIGS.
2-7 may be implemented by one or more of the components of FIGS. 1
and 9 (described in detail below) and/or other components,
including other computing devices configured to perform the
functions described herein. Additionally, the methods corresponding
to the driving event determination, roadway obstacle
identification, roadway obstacle alert and assessment, and
navigation are recited in the singular (e.g., in relation to a
particular vehicle 110 associated with sensors 111, GPS 112,
telematics device 113, on-board computer 115, and mobile device
120). However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily
appreciate that the following description may be applied to a
plurality of vehicles, each of which being associated with sensors,
GPS, telematics device, on-board computer, and mobile device.
Furthermore, while the calculations for determining roadway
obstacles based on vehicular data and directions based on
navigation data are discussed below in regards to obstacle
identification and route determination system 140 and, in
particular, the obstacle identification server 150 and the route
determination server 160 comprised therein, such calculations may
be performed by any one, or combination of, the mobile device,
server, telematics device, on-board computer, and the like.
[0047] FIG. 2 depicts a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
driving event determination method according to one or more aspects
of the disclosure. In some examples, one or more aspects of the
driving event determination method, along with the roadway obstacle
identification method, roadway obstacle alert and assessment
method, and navigation method described in further detail below,
may be included in and/or performed by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125. For instance, a roadway obstacle and
navigation application 117 downloaded from obstacle identification
and route determination system 140 and executing on one or more of
on-board computer 115 and mobile device 120 of the system 125 may
perform one or more aspects described herein. The downloaded
application may interface with obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 and roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 to perform one or more of the processes described herein.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the roadway obstacle and
navigation application 117 may be a web-based application operating
on obstacle identification and route determination system 140. In
such instances, on-board computer 115 and/or mobile device 120 may
access a webpage associated with obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 in order to perform one or more processes
of the driving event determination method, roadway obstacle
identification method, roadway obstacle alert and assessment
method, and navigation method described herein. While the
description of FIG. 2 is provided in relation to mobile device 120,
it should be understood that on-board computer 115 or a combination
of on-board computer and mobile device 120 may be able to perform
the following functions.
[0048] At step 202, one or more communication interfaces (e.g.,
Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.) associated with mobile device 120 are
activated after the launch of roadway obstacle and navigation
application 117. In some instances, the communication interfaces
may be activated by the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the communication interfaces may
be activated by obstacle identification and route determination
system 140 via a web-browser accessing obstacle identification and
route determination system 140 operating on mobile device 120.
[0049] At step 204, after the one or more communication interfaces
are activated, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
scan for the presence of a telematics device 113 and/or on-board
computer 115 of a vehicle 110 in the proximity of the mobile device
120. In the event that a telematics device 113 and/or on-board
computer 115 is detected or identified during the scan conducted by
the mobile device 120, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 may instruct the mobile device 120 to pair with the telematics
device 113 and/or on-board computer 115 at step 206.
[0050] Alternatively, if a telematics device 113 and/or on-board
computer 115 are not detected during the scan, the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 may activate one or more sensors of
mobile device 120 (e.g., GPS system and an accelerometer) at step
208. As discussed below, the vehicular data used in performing the
identification of roadway obstacles may be determined by one or
more of the activated GPS and accelerometer.
[0051] At step 210, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may receive vehicle operational data from the telematics device 113
and/or on-board computer 115 of vehicle 110. In particular, such
data may correspond to the location (e.g., longitude, latitude, and
altitude), heading (e.g., orientation), velocity, and acceleration
of the vehicle 110, as well as other data related to the operative
state of vehicle systems such as steering, navigation, braking, and
the like. In instances in which the roadway obstacle and navigation
system 125 was unable to pair with telematics device 113 and/or
vehicle on-board computer 115, vehicle operational data may be
determined via one or more of the activated GPS system and
accelerometer of the mobile device 120 associated with vehicle
110.
[0052] At step 212, in response to receiving the vehicle
operational data provided by the telematics device 113 and/or
on-board computer 115, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 may analyze the data to determine if a driving event occurred
(e.g., if the vehicle operational data surpasses a threshold of any
of a plurality of types of thresholds). As stated above, driving
events may include acceleration events, deceleration (braking)
events, turning events, lane change events, stopping events,
backing up events, and the like which surpass a predetermined
threshold corresponding to the event type. In further regard to
acceleration events, such events may be associated with vertical,
horizontal, and lateral acceleration and/or deceleration surpassing
a predetermined threshold.
[0053] If, in step 212, one or more threshold are surpassed and a
driving event is determined to have occurred, the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 may isolate the vehicle operational data
corresponding to the driving event including the value and type
(e.g., vertical, horizontal, and lateral acceleration and/or
deceleration) associated with the data surpassing the threshold, as
well as the geographical location and time at which the data was
determined in step 214. The system 125 may also compress the
isolated data. The compression performed by the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 may be either lossy or lossless. In
particular, compression may be performed using prefix codes,
Huffman codes, arithmetic coding, run-length coding, move-to-front
coning, residual coding, context coding, Lempel-Ziv algorithms,
Burrows Wheeler algorithms, scalar and vector quantization, and/or
wavelet, fractal, and model-based compression.
[0054] Alternatively, the determination of whether a driving event
occurred may be performed by obstacle identification server 150 of
obstacle identification and route determination system 140. In such
instances, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may be
configured to transmit some, or all, of the vehicle operational
data received from telematics device 113 and/or on-board computer
115 of vehicle 110 and/or determined independently at mobile device
120 to obstacle identification server 150 without performing the
determination. The roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
or may not compress the data prior to transmitting the data to
obstacle identification server 150. In some instances, the
telematics device 113 and/or on-board computer 115 may be
configured to directly transmit some, or all, of the vehicle
operational data to obstacle identification server 150 without
first transmitting the vehicle operational data to the mobile
device 120.
[0055] If, in step 212, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 determines that the vehicle operational data does not surpass
the predetermined threshold and that a driving event has not
occurred, the process may return to step 210.
[0056] At step 216, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may transmit the compressed vehicle operational data corresponding
to the driving event to obstacle identification and navigation
system 140. In order to conserve bandwidth, reduce processing
power, and conserve energy expenditure of mobile device 120, the
data transmitted by the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may only correspond to vehicle operational data determined to have
surpassed the predetermined threshold (e.g., vehicle operational
data determined to relate to a driving event) at step 208.
Moreover, by compressing the vehicle operational data determined to
have surpassed the predetermined threshold prior to transmittal,
data usage may be further reduced.
[0057] FIG. 3 depicts a flow diagram illustrating a roadway
obstacle identification method according to one or more aspects of
the disclosure. The method of FIG. 3 at step 302 the obstacle
identification server 150 of the obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 may receive compressed vehicle operational
data from a plurality roadway obstacle and navigation systems 125.
Each of the plurality of roadway obstacle and navigation systems
125 may be associated with a particular vehicle. As stated above,
the compressed data may correspond to vehicle operation data
determined by the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 to
have surpassed a predetermined threshold and correspond to a
driving event. Alternatively, the obstacle identification server
150 may receive vehicle operational data from any one, or
combination of, mobile device 120, telematics device 113, and
on-board computer 115 respective to each of a plurality of vehicles
of each of the plurality of roadway obstacle and navigation system
125, in either a compressed or non-compressed state, wherein the
vehicle operational data has yet to have been determined to have
surpassed the predetermined threshold associated with a driving
event.
[0058] In instances in which the compressed data was previously
determined by the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 to
have surpassed the predetermined threshold and correspond to a
driving event, the obstacle identification server 150, upon receipt
of the compressed data, may decompress the data at step 304 via
decompression algorithms that mirror the compression method
performed by the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 as
described above in regard to step 214 of FIG. 2.
[0059] Conversely, in instances in which the data was not
previously determined by the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 to correspond to a driving event, the obstacle identification
server 150, in cases in which the data is compressed, may
decompress the data at step 304 and may analyze the data to
determine if a threshold of any of a plurality of types was
surpassed (similar to step 212 in FIG. 2). As stated above, driving
events may include acceleration events, deceleration (braking)
events, turning events, lane change events, stopping events,
backing up events, and the like which surpass a predetermined
threshold corresponding to the event type. In further regard to
acceleration events, such events may be associated with vertical,
horizontal, and lateral acceleration and/or deceleration surpassing
a predetermined threshold.
[0060] In the event that it is determined that a threshold is
surpassed and that a driving event occurred, the obstacle
identification server 150 may isolate the vehicle operational data
corresponding to the surpassed threshold including the value and
type (e.g., vertical, horizontal, and lateral acceleration and/or
deceleration) associated with the data surpassing the threshold, as
well as the geographical location and time at which the data was
determined.
[0061] Alternatively, in instances in which the data was not
previously determined by the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 to have surpassed the predetermined threshold, the obstacle
identification server 150, in cases in which the data is not
compressed, may not perform step 304 and instead may analyze the
data to determine whether a driving event occurred.
[0062] The obstacle identification server 150 may store the vehicle
operational data determined to have surpassed the predetermined
threshold and thereby correspond to a driving event in obstacle
identification database 154 in accordance with the geographical
location and time at which the vehicle operation data was
determined at step 306.
[0063] At step 308, the obstacle identification server 150 may
identify, based on the stored vehicle operational data entries
determined to correspond to a driving event, whether a roadway
obstacle is present at any of the respective locations associated
with the stored vehicle operational data entries. In the event that
the stored data entries of vehicle operational data corresponding
to driving events surpass a predetermined threshold of entries
(e.g., 10 or more stored entries, 50 or more stored entries, 100 or
more stored entries, 500 or more stored entries, etc. associated
with a particular geographical location), the obstacle
identification server 150 may identify a roadway obstacle at the
particular geographical location. The identified roadway obstacle
may further be classified as a permanent and/or temporary obstacle.
For instance, a permanent obstacle may relate to a particular time
of day (e.g., morning between 7:00 am-9:20 am, evening between 4:00
pm-7:00 pm, etc.) and/or a particular segment of roadway (e.g.,
hairpin turn on a mountain road, speed bump, transitionary point
from paved to gravel/dirt road, etc.). A temporary obstacle may
relate to roadway phenomena such as debris, a pot hole, traffic
accident, flooded roadway, and the like.
[0064] In some instances, the determination of a roadway obstacle
may further be time dependent. For example, if stored data entries
provide data determined to have surpassed a predetermined threshold
and thereby correspond to a driving event at a particular
geographical location in a particular time range (e.g., 2 hours, 5
hours, 24 hours, etc.), the obstacle identification server 150 may
determine that a roadway obstacle is present at the particular
location. Additionally and/or alternatively, the determination of a
roadway obstacle may be based on a percentage of roadway obstacle
identification and navigation systems (e.g. 60% or greater, 75% or
greater, 85% or greater, etc.) providing vehicle operational data
determined to have surpassed the predetermined threshold over a
particular time range (e.g., 2 hours, 5 hours, 24 hours, etc.).
[0065] In the event that obstacle identification server 150 fails
to identify a roadway obstacle, the process may return to step 302.
Conversely, if the obstacle identification server 150 does identify
a roadway obstacle, the process may proceed to step 310. At step
310, the obstacle identification server 150 may store data
corresponding to the identified roadway obstacle in the obstacle
identification database 154.
[0066] At step 312, the obstacle identification server 150 may
transmit data corresponding to the identified roadway obstacle to
each of the roadway obstacle identification and navigation systems
125. The data corresponding to the roadway obstacle may indicate
the type of obstacle (e.g., permanent or temporary) and the
location corresponding to the obstacle. In some instances, the data
may be compressed by obstacle identification server 150 prior to
transmittal.
[0067] Additionally and/or alternatively, the obstacle
identification server 150 may determine whether to transmit data
corresponding to the identified roadway obstacle to one or more
roadway obstacle and navigation systems 125 in response to a
periodic location update corresponding to the vehicle associated
with each of the roadway obstacle and navigations systems 125. The
data comprising the periodic location update may include location
information associated with the vehicle 110 and may be provided in
set intervals (e.g., every 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 1 minute, etc.).
The obstacle identification server 150 may analyze the periodic
location update information to determine if the vehicle associated
with the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 has entered
within a predetermined distance buffer (e.g., 1 mile, 5 miles, 10
miles, etc.) around the location corresponding to the identified
roadway obstacle. In the event that the vehicle has entered within
the predetermined distance buffer, the obstacle identification
server 150 may provide the data corresponding to the identified
roadway obstacle to the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
corresponding to the vehicle.
[0068] FIG. 4 flow diagram illustrating an example of a roadway
obstacle alert and assessment method according to one or more
aspects of the disclosure. At step 402, the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may receive data corresponding to one or more
roadway obstacles from obstacle identification server 150. As
stated above, the data corresponding to the roadway obstacle may
indicate the type of obstacle (e.g., permanent or temporary) and
the location corresponding to the obstacle. In some instances, the
data corresponding to the one or more roadway obstacles may be
compressed. In such instances, the roadway obstacle and navigation
operating 117 on mobile device 120 may decompress the received
data.
[0069] After receiving data corresponding to the one or more
roadway obstacles, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may determine a location of the vehicle 110 at step 404. In
determining the location of the vehicle 110, the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 may request location data of the vehicle
110 from telematics device 113 and/or on-board computer 115.
Alternatively, in instances in which roadway obstacle
identification and navigation system 125 was unable to pair with
telematics device 113 and/or vehicle on-board computer 115,
location data of vehicle 110 may be determined via the activated
GPS system and accelerometer of the mobile device 120 associated
with vehicle 110. In any case, the roadway obstacle and navigation
system 125 may determine a relative location of the vehicle 110 in
relation to each of the one or more roadway obstacles by comparing
the data corresponding to the location of vehicle 110 to the
location information of each of the one or more roadway obstacles
at step 406.
[0070] At step 408, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may determine whether the relative location of the vehicle 110 to
at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles is within a
predetermined threshold (e.g., 1000 feet, 500 feet, 100 feet,
etc.). In the event that the relative location of the vehicle 110
to the one or more roadway obstacles is not within a predetermined
threshold, the process may return to step 404. Conversely, in the
event that the relative location of the vehicle 110 to at least one
of the one or more roadway obstacles is within a predetermined
threshold, the process may proceed to step 410.
[0071] At step 410, responsive to determining that the relative
location of the vehicle 110 to at least one of the one or more
roadway obstacles is within a predetermined threshold, the roadway
obstacle and navigation system 125 may transmit a signal to mobile
device 120 to activate a speaker associated with mobile device 120.
In some instances, roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
also activate a vibratory mechanism of mobile device 120.
Additionally and/or alternatively, the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may transmit instructions to on-board
computer 115 of vehicle 110 to activate a speaker system of vehicle
110.
[0072] At step 410, based on the location of vehicle 110
approaching that of at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles (e.g., the relative location between the vehicle 110 and
the roadway obstacle decreasing), the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may cause the activated speaker of mobile
device 120 to emit an audible tone of an increasing frequency and
loudness proportional to the relative distance between the vehicle
110 and the at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles. For
instance, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
transmit a signal to the mobile device 120 to generate an audible
signal or tone that may be emitted via the activated speaker. In
some instances, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
also cause the vibratory mechanism of mobile device 120 to vibrate
in proportion to the relative distance between the vehicle 110 and
the roadway obstacle. Such vibrations may be intermittent
initially, but may approach a constant vibratory state as the
vehicle 110 approaches the obstacle (e.g., as a distance between
the vehicle and the obstacle is reduced). Additionally and/or
alternatively, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
transmit instructions to on-board computer 115 of vehicle 110 to
produce an audible tone similar to that produced by mobile device
120.
[0073] At step 412, after passing the at least one of the one or
more roadway obstacles, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 may compress vehicle operation data received from one or more
of the telematics device 113 and the on-board computer 115
corresponding to the location of the at least one of the one or
more roadway obstacles. In instances in which the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 was unable to pair with telematics device
113 and/or vehicle on-board computer 115 and vehicle operational
data is determined via one or more of the activated GPS system and
accelerometer of the mobile device 120 associated with vehicle 110,
such data may be compressed as well.
[0074] After the vehicle operation data corresponding to the
location of the at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles
is compressed by roadway obstacle and navigation system 125, the
compressed data may be transmitted by the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125to obstacle identification server 150 at step
414.
[0075] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of a
roadway obstacle alert and assessment method according to one or
more aspects of the disclosure. The method of FIG. 5 may commence
at step 502 wherein the obstacle identification server 150 of the
obstacle identification and route determination system 140 may
receive compressed vehicle operational data from a plurality
roadway obstacle and navigation systems. Each of the plurality of
roadway obstacle and navigation systems may be associated with a
particular vehicle. As stated above, the compressed data may
correspond to vehicle operation data corresponding to the location
of the at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles.
Alternatively, the obstacle identification server 150 may receive
vehicle operational data from any one, or combination of, mobile
device 120, telematics device 113, and on-board computer 115
respective to each of a plurality of vehicles of each of the
plurality of roadway obstacle and navigation system 125, in either
a compressed or non-compressed state, corresponding to the location
of the at least one of the one or more roadway obstacles.
[0076] At step 504, upon receipt of the compressed data from the
roadway obstacle and navigation systems respective to each of a
plurality of vehicles, obstacle identification server 150 may
decompress the data via decompression algorithms that mirror the
compression method performed by the roadway obstacle and navigation
system 125 as described above. Conversely, in instances in which
the data was not compressed, the obstacle identification server 150
my skip step 504 and proceed to step 506. At step 506, the obstacle
identification server 150 may store the vehicle operational data in
obstacle identification database 154 in relation to the
geographical position and time at which the data was
determined.
[0077] At step 508, the obstacle identification server 150 may
determine, based on the stored vehicle operation data corresponding
to the location of the at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles, whether to remove the data corresponding to the at least
one of the one or more roadway obstacles stored in database 154. In
performing the determination, obstacle identification server 150
may analyze each of the stored vehicle operational data entries
corresponding to the location of the at least one of the one or
more roadway obstacles to determine whether or not each of the
stored vehicle operational data entries surpassed a predetermined
threshold at the geographical location corresponding to the roadway
obstacle and thereby correspond to a driving event. In order to
remove the roadway obstacle, obstacle identification server 150 may
determine that a particular threshold of stored data entries (e.g.,
10 or more stored entries, 20 or more stored entries, 100 or more
stored entries, 500 or more stored entries, etc.) corresponding to
the location of the roadway obstacle did not surpass a
predetermined data threshold and do not correspond to a driving
event. In some instances, the determination of whether or not to
remove the roadway obstacle may further be time dependent. For
example, if stored data entries provide data determined not to have
surpassed a predetermined threshold at the geographical location
corresponding to the at least one of the one or more roadway
obstacles in a particular time range (e.g., 2 hours, 5 hours, 24
hours, etc.), the obstacle identification server 150 may determine
that the roadway obstacle should be removed. Additionally and/or
alternatively, the determination of whether or not to remove a
roadway obstacle may be based on a percentage of stored data
entries (e.g. 60% or greater, 75% or greater, 85% or greater, etc.)
providing vehicle operational data determined not to have surpassed
the predetermined threshold over a particular time range (e.g., 2
hours, 5 hours, 24 hours, etc.).
[0078] In the event that obstacle identification server 150
determines not to remove the roadway obstacle, the process may
return to step 502. Conversely, if the obstacle identification
server 150 does determine to remove the roadway obstacle, the
process may proceed to step 510. At step 510, the obstacle
identification server 150 may transmit data corresponding to the
removal of the roadway obstacle to each of the roadway obstacle
identification and navigation systems. The data corresponding to
the roadway obstacle may indicate that the obstacle has been
removed and the location corresponding to the obstacle. In some
instances, the data may be compressed by obstacle identification
server 150 prior to transmittal.
[0079] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a
navigation method according to one or more aspects of the
disclosure. In step 602 the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 may receive location navigation information (e.g., location and
destination information) from a user through an input interface
(e.g., touch screen, keypad, etc.) of mobile device 120.
[0080] For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may provide a navigation interface to a user
including entry field 802 corresponding to the location information
(e.g., departure address), entry field 804 corresponding to the
destination information (e.g., destination address), and map 806.
In regard to step 602, the roadway obstacle and navigation system
125 may be configured to receive a departure address from the user
in entry field 802 and a destination address in entry field
804.
[0081] After receiving the navigation information, the roadway
obstacle and navigation system 125 may compress the received
location and destination information and transmit the compressed
navigation information to obstacle identification and route
determination system 140 and, in particular, to route determination
server 160 at step 604.
[0082] At step 606, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may receive roadway obstacle and route information from route
determination server 160 in relation to the location and
destination information provided at step 602. Additionally, and
after receiving the roadway obstacle and route information, the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may generate and/or
render the roadway obstacle and route information on the navigation
interface. For example, as shown in FIG. 8B, the roadway obstacle
and navigation system 125 may annotate map 806 with data points 812
and 814 corresponding to the location and destination information,
respectively, received from the user at step 602. Additionally, the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may generate any roadway
obstacles (e.g., 822 and 824, for example) determined by route
determination server 160, as described in further detail below,
along the determined route between data points 812 and 814 (e.g.,
location and destination). The roadway obstacles 822 and 824 may be
flags, pins, and/or other user interface elements. In some
instances, the roadway obstacles 822 and 824 may be of a particular
color and/or type (e.g., flag, pint, and/or other user interface
elements) based on the class of roadway obstacle which it signifies
(e.g., temporary or permanent obstacle) and the type of obstacle
within the class of roadway obstacle (e.g., pot hole, roadway
debris, and the like for temporary obstacles and traffic, speed
bump, and the like for permanent obstacles).
[0083] At step 608, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may activate one or more of a GPS system and an accelerometer
associated with the mobile device 120. As discussed below, the
vehicle operational data and navigation data used in performing the
identification of roadway obstacles and navigation functions may be
determined by one or more of the activated GPS and accelerometer.
At step 610, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
determine, via one or more of the activated GPS system and
accelerometer, location information associated with a vehicle
110.
[0084] At step 612, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may determine, based on the location information corresponding to
the vehicle determined at step 610 and location information
corresponding to the roadway obstacles on the route between the
location and destination provided by route determination server
160, whether the vehicle 110 is approaching one or more of the
roadway obstacles. In the event that the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 determines that the vehicle is not
approaching the location corresponding to the roadway obstacles,
the process may return to step 610. Conversely, if the roadway
obstacle and navigation system 125 determines that the vehicle 110
is approaching a roadway obstacle, the process may proceed to step
614.
[0085] At step 614, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
transmit a signal to mobile device 120 to activate a speaker
associated with mobile device 120. In some instances, roadway
obstacle and navigation system may also activate a vibratory
mechanism of mobile device 120. Additionally, based on the location
of vehicle 110 approaching that of the roadway obstacle (e.g., the
relative location between the vehicle 110 and the roadway obstacle
decreasing), the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may
cause the activated speaker of mobile device 120 to produce an
audible tone of an increasing frequency and loudness proportional
to the relative distance between the vehicle 110 and the at least
one of the one or more roadway obstacles. In some instances, the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may also cause the
vibratory mechanism of mobile device 120 to vibrate in proportion
to the relative distance between the vehicle 110 and the roadway
obstacle. Such vibrations may be intermittent initially, but may
approach a constant vibratory state as the vehicle 110 approaches
the obstacle.
[0086] At step 616, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may determine that the vehicle 110 has reached the location
corresponding to the destination information received at step 602.
Such a determination may be performed by matching the location
information of vehicle 110 to that of the previously provided
destination. After determining that the vehicle has reached the
location corresponding to the received destination information, the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 may request, via the
navigation interface, for the user to provide additional
information corresponding to the roadway obstacles encountered
during the drive at step 618. In particular, roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may request that the user provide information
related to the class of the roadway obstacle which (e.g., temporary
or permanent obstacle) and the type of obstacle within the class of
roadway obstacle (e.g., pot hole, roadway debris, and the like for
temporary obstacles and traffic, speed bump, and the like for
permanent obstacles). In some instances, the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125 may further request the user to provide an
indication of the actuality of the roadway obstacle (e.g., whether
the roadway obstacle existed and/or existed in the provided
location).
[0087] At step 620, the roadway obstacle and navigation system 125
may compress the user information provided by the user
corresponding to the roadway obstacle and may transmit such data to
any one, or combination of, obstacle identification server 150 and
route determination sever 160 in step 622.
[0088] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating another example of the
navigation method according to one or more aspects of the
disclosure. At step 702 the route determination server 160 of the
obstacle identification and route determination system 140 may
receive compressed navigation data (e.g., location and destination
information) from a roadway obstacle and navigation system 125.
Upon receipt of the compressed data, the route determination server
160 may decompress the data at step 704 via decompression
algorithms that mirror the compression method performed by the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125 as described above.
[0089] At step 706, after decompressing the location and
destination information received from the roadway obstacle and
navigation system 125, the route determination server 160 may
determine, based on the location and destination information, route
information and corresponding roadway obstacle information. In some
instances, the determined route may be a route involving the
shortest total roadway travel distance between the entered location
and destination. Alternatively, the determined route may be a route
involving the least amount of roadway obstacles between the entered
location and destination. After determining the route information
and associated obstacle information, at step 708, the route
determination server 160 may transmit the data corresponding to the
route information and the associated roadway obstacles to the
roadway obstacle and navigation system 125.
[0090] At step 710, the route destination server 160 may receive
compressed data comprising information regarding one or more of the
roadway obstacles associated with the route determined by the route
destination server 160 in step 706. As stated above, such
information may include user provided information related to the
class of the roadway obstacle which (e.g., temporary or permanent
obstacle) and the type of obstacle within the class of roadway
obstacle (e.g., pot hole, roadway debris, and the like for
temporary obstacles and traffic, speed bump, and the like for
permanent obstacles). In some instances, the data may further
include an indication of the actuality of the roadway obstacle
(e.g., whether the roadway obstacle existed and/or existed in the
provided location).
[0091] At step 712, the route destination server 160 may update,
based on the user provided information regarding one or more of the
roadway obstacles associated with the determined route, information
corresponding to one or more of the roadway obstacles. For example,
the information provided by the user may be used to update
previously undetermined information relating to one or more of the
roadway obstacles including the class and type. In some instances,
the user provided information may be used to revise the location
data associated with the roadway obstacle, remove a roadway
obstacle, and/or add a new roadway obstacle. In any event, the
route destination server 160 may be configured to store the updated
information corresponding to one or more of the roadway obstacles
in route destination database 164.
[0092] FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device 901
in a roadway obstacle analysis and navigation system that may be
used according to one or more illustrative embodiments of the
disclosure. The computing device 901 may have a processor 903 for
controlling overall operation of the computing device 901 and its
associated components, including RAM 905, ROM 907, input/output
module 909, and memory unit 915. The computing device 901, along
with one or more additional devices (e.g., terminals 941, 951) may
correspond to any of multiple systems or devices, such as roadway
obstacle analysis and navigation systems, configured as described
herein for performing methods corresponding to the driving event
determination, roadway obstacle identification, roadway obstacle
alert and assessment, and navigation.
[0093] Input/Output (I/O) module 909 may include a microphone,
keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user of the
computing device 901 may provide input, and may also include one or
more of a speaker for providing audio input/output and a video
display device for providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical
output. Software may be stored within memory unit 915 and/or other
storage to provide instructions to processor 903 for enabling
device 901 to perform various functions. For example, memory unit
915 may store software used by the device 901, such as an operating
system 917, application programs 919, and an associated internal
database 921. The memory unit 915 includes one or more of volatile
and/or non-volatile computer memory to store computer-executable
instructions, data, and/or other information. Processor 903 and its
associated components may allow the computing device 901 to execute
a series of computer-readable instructions to perform the methods
described in FIGS. 2-7.
[0094] The computing device 901 may operate in a networked
environment 900 supporting connections to one or more remote
computers, such as terminals/devices 941 and 951. Computing device
901, and related terminals/devices 941 and 951, may include devices
installed in vehicles, mobile devices that may travel within
vehicles, or devices outside of vehicles that are configured to
receive and process vehicle and other sensor data. Thus, the
computing device 901 and terminals/devices 941 and 951 may each
include personal computers (e.g., laptop, desktop, or tablet
computers), servers (e.g., web servers, database servers),
vehicle-based devices (e.g., on-board vehicle computers,
short-range vehicle communication systems, sensors and telematics
devices), or mobile communication devices (e.g., mobile phones,
portable computing devices, and the like), and may include some or
all of the elements described above with respect to the computing
device 901. The network connections depicted in FIG. 9 include a
local area network (LAN) 925 and a wide area network (WAN) 929, and
a wireless telecommunications network 933, but may also include
other networks. When used in a LAN networking environment, the
computing device 901 may be connected to the LAN 925 through a
network interface or adapter 923. When used in a WAN networking
environment, the device 901 may include a modem 927 or other means
for establishing communications over the WAN 929, such as network
931 (e.g., the Internet). When used in a wireless
telecommunications network 933, the device 901 may include one or
more transceivers, digital signal processors, and additional
circuitry and software for communicating with wireless computing
devices 941 (e.g., mobile phones, short-range vehicle communication
systems, vehicle sensing and telematics devices) via one or more
network devices 935 (e.g., base transceiver stations) in the
wireless network 933.
[0095] It will be appreciated that the network connections shown
are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications
link between the computers may be used. The existence of any of
various network protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and
the like, and of various wireless communication technologies such
as GSM, CDMA, Wi-Fi, and WiMAX, is presumed, and the various
computing devices and components described herein may be configured
to communicate using any of these network protocols or
technologies.
[0096] Additionally, one or more application programs 919 used by
the computing device 901 may include computer executable
instructions for receiving data and performing other related
functions as described herein.
[0097] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the
various aspects described herein may be embodied as a method, a
computer system, or a computer program product. Accordingly, those
aspects may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an
entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software
and hardware aspects. Furthermore, such aspects may take the form
of a computer program product stored by one or more
computer-readable storage media having computer-readable program
code, or instructions, embodied in or on the storage media. Any
suitable computer readable storage media may be utilized, including
hard disks, CD-ROMs, optical storage devices, magnetic storage
devices, and/or any combination thereof. In addition, various
signals representing data or events as described herein may be
transferred between a source and a destination in the form of
electromagnetic waves traveling through signal-conducting media
such as metal wires, optical fibers, and/or wireless transmission
media (e.g., air and/or space).
[0098] Although the subject matter has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended
claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described
above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the
claims.
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